by Hurri Cosmo
Standing here now, watching the young man interact with the people, the king once again felt the heat affect him in ways he had not experienced in a very long while, if ever. He wondered why a servant would be dressed the way the young man was dressed--more regally than a servant should be. What rank did he hold? It looked like it was high, although the man he had sent after him yesterday reported he was unable to find out. Aric's guard only saw that he met up with an older man at the entrance to the pass. He was at least able to overhear the conversation between the two. He witnessed the passing over of medicine and other items--presumably for the older man's family. Then they both stayed the night, and left early the next morning, the older man entering the pass and the servant turning toward Castle Blade Rain. The man who was waiting for him at the entrance didn't know his name either, although he asked for it several times. It seemed the young man wanted to keep his identity secret. It made sense. Even a high-ranking servant could get his head lopped off if he was found to be stealing from the king. It was the only explanation.
King Aric, of course, knew how selfish King Oxys was. It warmed his heart to know the servants were willing to risk their lives for the sake of others, although he still didn't like it--especially since he had begun to take serious interest in this young man who was definitely putting himself in grave danger. He would have to make sure he was protected. Finding out who he was and how he belonged to this castle was the first thing to do to make that happen.
King Aric motioned quickly for TaParn, his assistant, who had accompanied him to the reception, to follow the man, since Aric would not be able to exit the reception yet, and he needed to make sure he didn't pass up this opportunity to learn more. However, the young servant was obviously in a hurry and quickly slipped out as Aric's assistant fought to get to the door he left through. The king chuckled. The kid was fast on his feet, too. TaParn was going to be hard-pressed to catch up to him and most likely at this point would not. This boy intrigued him more and more. He was going to find it hard to not just tear the castle apart if he couldn't obtain more information soon.
* * * *
Joron had heard the excited murmurs, mainly from the girls, as he made his exit out of the hall, and figured the visiting king had finally arrived. He moved faster then, not wanting to be caught having to be introduced to him. It was best, since he would have nothing to do with the man in the future anyway. He sprinted down the hallway, heading for the servants' area, turning first left, then right, meeting his sister where she told him she would be.
"You missed King Aric," Joron said, offering his arm to Liarta.
"Indeed? I hear he is stunningly attractive. Did you see him?" She slid her arm through his and they continued toward the servants' wing.
"No. I did hear the ohhs and ahhs as he was coming in." He laughed.
"He's another one who's not married. He's actually widowed. He has a young son, three or four years old, I believe. He's a very powerful man. He would be a good ally. Hopefully our brother realizes such an alliance would be beneficial."
"Do you know why he's here?"
"No. Do you?"
"I do not."
"I wonder what it's about. You suppose if father called for him, would he have told Diagus?"
"If that's the case, I would hope so. I would hate to think King Aric would have made the trip for nothing. I think that would definitely upset him. But if he's as powerful as you say, what would father have needed to discuss with him? Although..."
"What?"
"I was thinking... If you and I hadn't already met with Father about your lover, His Grace, Lord Kurk, I would think he might have tried to marry you off to King Aric."
Liarta sighed. "I am so glad you talked me into telling Father. I'm so surprised he gave his blessing for us to be married."
"Well, he is a duke and from one of our main provinces, too, the Province of the Moon. I'm sure Father was proud."
"I hope so. I sent word to Kurk already. I'm only sad now he is unable to see Father again to thank him as well."
"Is he coming?"
"Soon. He'll be here for the funeral. We'll hold the wedding here, of course, though I don't want to and Mother won't care."
Joron leaned over and gave her a quick hug. "I'm so happy for you. You found the man you want to spend the rest of your life with. and obtaining Father's blessing was so important, although I do have to admit I am surprised by how fast he gave it. Maybe he thought he needed to do a good deed before he died."
Liarta sighed. "Yes, sadly, it may very well be the truth."
The room she took him to was small and nestled between many rooms in a long, out-of-the-way corridor. Joron marveled at how comfortable it was here in the primary sleeping quarters of the castle servants. Joron could hear music and singing and children playing. He could hear prayers being said, arguments being had, and sweet laughter. The corridor, at this hour, was busy with people coming and going, preparing themselves, their families, and the castle for the night. It felt amazingly warm and inviting. He bowed his head, hoping not to be recognized, and followed his sister into the tiny space.
* * * *
The night passed uneventfully but the morning was brutal. Liarta brought in an army of women, all determined to transform the prince before daybreak. Every one of them was sworn to secrecy and came in with armloads of undergarments, gowns, makeup, and ribbons. He was pulled into a chair in the center of the room and they all went to work.
Kinnabe had come in a couple of times with news of the movements of both Diagus and the queen. Diagus had indeed gone to Joron's room in the middle of the night and when he saw Joron was not there, he sent his men out immediately to find his brother. The rumor was Diagus knew Joron had a lover and he was going to find out who it was. They had been out all night searching but came up empty-handed. They obviously never thought to check the servants' quarters. He also noted the servants themselves held their tongues from giving any news at all to Diagus's crew. Last he had heard, Diagus was still frantically searching, door to door, and word was he would eventually come to this part of the castle, if he were given the time. But in a castle of this size, especially with visiting royalty and the fact a royal funeral was soon to be conducted, it wouldn't happen. Joron didn't have anything to worry about.
The queen, on the other hand, had tried to proposition King Aric. It seemed King Aric was interested in one of Blade Rain's servants. No one knew who. The queen, having heard the same rumor, wandered into the king's room and basically threw herself at him. She was quietly rejected and sent away. No one much cared about how the queen felt and, in fact, would have cheered if she were publicly humiliated. But King Aric handled it expertly and diplomatically. The queen was not in a good mood that morning.
Though the queen's rejection was a top subject with the servants, the real talk had turned to whom King Aric was truly interested in. The only thing anyone knew was this person was a high-ranking servant, not even if it was a woman or a man. Joron smirked when Kinnabe told him it was chatted about pretty freely that King Aric bedded both males and females, which made a good number of servants in the castle dream it could be them who had turned the king's head.
Joron dismissed most of it, knowing he shouldn't be paying attention to palace gossip. However, he was pleased to learn Tamusi had some discernment as it related to his bed partners in turning down the queen for whatever reason he chose to use.
An hour and a half later, Joron stood in the heaviest clothes he had ever had on. After being forced to try on no less than eight outfits--he thought the women had taken a little too much pleasure in constantly stripping him naked--he ended up wearing a light yellow, long gown underneath a deep green velvet coat. The dress was further adorned with gold chains that draped the bodice all the way to the waist and only added to the weight of the gown. The women said the chains would detract from Joron's obvious lack of a bosom. The coat sleeves were also ornate, tight on his arm until it reached his elbow. From there, the f
abric fell away, like hanging long sheer scarves off both arms. They were also heavily trimmed with gold thread. It was pulled together at Joron's thin waist with a gold belt, further adding to its look of royalty.
Joron became concerned as he watched it all come together and asked if it was truly okay to go out dressed like this. They all assured him he would look stunning. He let it go, knowing they had totally misunderstood the question. He was more concerned over the fact that dressed the way he was, he would be too obvious, attract way too much attention. He simply wanted, needed, to be able to fade into the background, but that was not what he was seeing happening.
They then curled his brown hair, its length allowing them to sweep it up into a loose ponytail and wove deep green and yellow ribbons and gauzy material throughout, letting it all hang down his back. The makeup they put on him reddened his cheeks and lips and lengthened his thick eyelashes. They clipped earrings to his ears and put a wide choker of green velvet on his neck. Thankfully, the slippers were comfortable. When he was allowed to look at himself in the full length mirror, he was shocked. He looked like a woman that would even turn his head. He stood staring, totally amazed.
"Wow," he whispered.
Liarta beamed with her accomplishment. "Pretty good, huh? You're beautiful."
He was. Kinnabe was speechless when he came in. "I agree, you're beautiful. Truly, amazingly beautiful..." His voice was barely audible.
"Well, I think you're right. No one will recognize me. I'll try this to see what happens." He turned to Liarta. "Thank you, Liarta. You may have saved a little girl's life. You certainly saved mine." He pulled her into an embrace and hugged her.
The servants readied his horse and he realized because of the gown he would have to ride sidesaddle. The saddle itself made it easier for the dress but not for Joron. Riding in this dress was going to be a challenge.
* * * *
Joron fidgeted in his saddle. He couldn't imagine riding the entire day like this. As soon as he was out of sight and range of the castle, he intended to rid the horse of the saddle altogether. Bareback would be better than this, even if he had to hitch the gown up to his hips. He could also ride a lot faster since he wouldn't feel like he was falling off all the time.
It was during one of his irritated moments, he heard the person following him. Immediately he thought of the day before when he had felt a presence. He wondered briefly if it was the same person but immediately knew it wasn't because this one seemed much more clumsy and loud. He stopped his horse and turned around. Into view rode one of Blade Rain's own stable hands. In fact, it was the same one Joron had seen leering at him as he was leaving. The man continued to leer at him, which Joron thought odd until he remembered how he was dressed. Once again, he had opted for no one to accompany him. He had met with more resistance this time but his men were used to his refusal of their tagging along, especially on these tasks knowing by heart all of the reasons. But this time he had armed himself. A woman alone was far different from a man alone. He reached down to his ankle and pulled a knife. It was small but it was sharp. Best thing of all, he knew how to use it.
The man approached, smirking. "Hey, pretty lady. Where are you off to this fine morning?"
Joron chose not to speak. The less he said the better, but he held his knife up as warning.
The man simply laughed. "What you going to do with that, my little kitten? Scratch me?" He held out his hand as he continued to come closer. "Now hands it over before you goes and hurts yourself."
As much as Joron knew he could hold his own, even with this large man, he was more concerned about being discovered he was not a woman. He also was afraid to kick his horse into a gallop, due to the fact he was still not used to this impossible saddle. He quickly made the decision to run anyway and kicked his horse, taking off down the road. Maybe he was wrong and the man wouldn't follow.
He was not wrong.
The man gave chase. Joron held on tight but knew it was a losing battle. The man behind him was gaining on him. He kicked the horse again but received no more speed. Suddenly the man was beside him, reaching for Joron's reins. He pushed at the man, slashed at his hand with his small knife, and he veered off, slowing down. But the stable hand was not going to be defeated that easily. He came at Joron again. This time, when he grabbed the reins, he grabbed Joron's hands as well, shaking the knife loose. It fell to the ground as the stable hand pulled them both to a stop, Joron struggling against the man but making no headway. Then the man slipped from his own horse, bringing Joron with him. He let Joron fall to the ground with a thud and a flurry of fabric as the man stood over Joron laughing.
"That was quite a chase, my pretty lady. Sure gets the blood going." He held his hand to his mouth, sucking off the blood from his knife wound. "You sure are a wild little thing."
Joron had tried to stop his fall but only ended up jarring his arm when he hit the ground and for a moment, Joron found it hard to move. He briefly looked around for the knife but if it was there, he wasn't seeing it. His senses returning to him, he realized he needed to stand up if he had any hope of pulling himself from this mess. He scooted away far enough so he could rise to his feet but the stable hand didn't like that at all.
"Oh no, little lady, you're not going anywhere." He took one large step and grabbed Joron roughly by his injured arm, pulling him straight up.
Joron was shocked at the pain and yelled out. The man pulled him into an embrace, forcing Joron's face up into a sloppy kiss, trying to open Joron's mouth with his large, wet tongue. Joron gagged at the feel. He struggled hard against the man, screaming from behind that kiss, knowing if the asshole didn't release him soon, he might throw up. He was surprised how loud that muffled scream was in the quiet morning air. The man finally gave up the kiss, as he started to trail his wet tongue down Joron's neck, heading for a place that would surely give him away. Joron pushed again at the slobbering idiot, yelling out once more for him to stop. If this man discovered his secret, Joron would be a dead man.
* * * *
King Aric was glad he had chosen to ride alone this morning. He had some things to think about before he took the time to talk with the new King of Blade Rain. Things had definitely changed due to the old king's death--a death that seemed suspicious to him, coupled with the missive he had received the day he departed Claymoor. He battled now what to actually tell this new king. His main reason for being here was to make a better Ice Dragon Pass agreement. But now he needed to put one more thing on his agenda. He may have to question Oxys's illness and death to satisfy his own uncertainties. However, the unrest he was feeling about the security of this small kingdom was going to take more than a simple discussion. He was also going to have to make sure Blade Rain borders were protected. Aric did not keep it secret he was on a quest to combine the kingdoms. If they could become a union of kingdoms they could trade and travel not only more fairly but more safely. There were many things they could do together that apart became difficult for the smaller, less wealthy, kingdoms. A number of kingdoms had already fallen into Aric's hands. Perhaps Blade Rain needed to be next.
But there was the young man as well. The servant no one seemed to know. When TaParn had finally returned to the reception last night after trying in vain to catch up to the young man, he reported he'd ended up being lost in the endless hallways in the servants' area. Clearly the man belonged to Blade Rain. But he could not be found, and it irritated Aric a whole lot more than he wanted to admit.
He was lost in such thoughts when he heard the first wail. By the time he heard the muffled scream, he had already kicked his horse in the direction the sound had come from. He was close when he heard another cry, this one a shrill "Stop!" and as the sound ended, he cleared a bend in the road and saw a lady being pushed to the ground by a large man. She was fighting hard, pounding and pushing with all her might against the man's chest. Aric was amazed at the intensity with which she fought. He flew off of his horse and straight at the man, who now had the woman
pinned beneath him. The attacker was a large man, larger than the king, but the king had training on his side and this man looked like a stable hand. He slammed into him, throwing him off. Before he went to the ground himself, he reached for the man's arms and had them pinned behind the offender, prior to the man even realizing he had been hit. They rolled to a sitting position, Aric behind the stable hand. Aric took one of those arms and forced it up the man's back toward the nape of his neck until the man started to scream with the pain.
"Stop! Stop! That hurts!" He thrashed his legs, trying to get at Aric.
"Stop fighting me." Aric's voice was loud and commanding. The man stopped struggling immediately. Aric, holding his prisoner firmly, called out, "My lady? Are you all right?" He thought she was fine from the tiger-like way she had been fighting, but he wanted to be sure.
* * * *
Joron had been totally shocked when the man flew off him. He only saw a blur of black and tan and then he was free of the smelly, filthy man trying to molest him. He sat up quickly, thinking to run now, his secret identity intact, but when he saw an actual god-like creature holding his attacker, he ended up not being able to move. Suddenly the beautiful god was calling out, asking if some woman was all right. He wasn't sure who the man was talking to in the first two seconds because he called out "lady" but then Joron realized once again he was that "lady." He stumbled to his feet, wiping off the front of his dress, and pulling the hair and tangle of ribbons out of his eyes.
"Yes...yes. I'm fine... I'm...." No! He started off with his own voice and closed his eyes when he realized it. No! Another error. He knew this had been a bad idea. But he couldn't change it now. He continued to brush himself off, buying time before he had to look up and see how much the mistake would cost him. But it appeared the man didn't notice as Joron watched his rescuer slowly rise to his own feet, bringing his attacker with him. Now Joron could see his rescuer's true magnificence and he could not help but stare.